Hazardous material spills are a daily industrial reality. Accidental spills are a definite concern, causing immediate risk to employees, production downtime, economic losses and regulatory headaches. Even small spills can be an expensive nuisance.

Typically, a small chemical spill is dealt with by absorption with pads and "socks". The use of absorbents allows for the removal of the hazmat from the spill site, but that’s only the beginning of the cleanup task. The site must still be decontaminated to remove unabsorbed residues.
The absorbent and the absorbed hazmat must be handled, stored and ultimately disposed of as a hazardous waste. In a full compliance environment, disposal can involve considerable paper work and costs.

The concept of the neutralization of chemical spills is by no means new, nor is it exceptionally high tech. On a gross scale, it is a basic process of waste water treatment used by many major chemical companies to maintain the pH or other properties of their effluent. For this, they may use basic chemicals such as sulphuric acid and caustic soda, "hazardous materials", but safe when used in a controlled environment. On a small scale, some people may use a range of raw chemicals to treat small spills in the work place. The use of improper materials may pose dangers beyond those associated with the spill itself. The regulatory environment has changed the attention paid to workplace safety and environmental responsibility and the approach to spills is being formalized.

Immediate neutralization at the spill site is an option that has been generally overlooked by practitioners in the field. While the use of neutralizers is increasing, their use is still considered by many a black art. With the products now readily available in the market, this option is safe and practical to implement.

The most common spills in the industry involve acids, alkalis and solvents. The former two materials are easily dealt with with neutralizers. Solvents, however, are best responded to with absorbents. Neutralization cannot be used in all circumstances, but, where it can, the use of neutralizing products (or toxicity reduction agents, as they may also be known) can offer important advantages in the treatment and subsequent handling of hazmat spills.